The best proof that face creams do work? Just look at the difference in skin quality between an assiduously cared for face and largely ignored hands as they slide into middle age. Crepiness, brown spots, popping veins and, as spotted on Nicole Kidman, 56, as she blew fans a regal kiss at the Chanel couture show in January, shar-pei fingers can all come out of seemingly nowhere in your 40s and 50s.
I know, because if nothing else, I have 80-year-old lady fingers and gnarly hands in common with Kidman. Despite (again, like Kidman, we may assume) having had access to every skincare product imaginable for 25 years (by dint of being a beauty editor), I’ve put them all on my face and barely ever on my hands. And while we’ll all have been admonished at one time or another to “look after your hands and neck as well as our face or you’ll regret it”, the evidence (in the shape of cosmetic doctors treating plenty of women displeased by their suddenly ancient hands) shows that plenty of us rarely do.
It’s understandable (after all, it’s never your hands staring back at you in the mirror), but it’s a missed opportunity. Especially because “the skin on the hands is thinner, with less fatty tissue padding it out, than the face,” says cosmetic physician Dr Apul Parikh. Add sun exposure and levels of mobility equal to what the face is subjected to, and you can see why age-related collagen, elastin, fat and moisture loss show up on your hands early, “with veins, tendons and bony structures suddenly becoming prominent,” says Dr Parikh.
As with the face, the real secret is in prevention and consistency of care, so committing to hand care basics today, whatever age you are, can prevent deterioration. But if you’re already at a point where you’d like more of a hand makeover, there are a wealth of options.
Six ways to improve the look of your handsHard-working hand creams
If you love your moisturising hand cream so much you religiously use it, just keep going – one key to halting signs of ageing is consistent hydration. But if you’re trying to get into the habit late in the day, you want to opt for a hard-working cream with the power to prevent and correct. What applies to the face applies to the hands: a daily SPF is your greatest age defender, while clinically-backed ingredients such as peptides can go some way towards correcting crepiness and brown spots.
Try these…